Hero
by previouslyjade
Summary: "Dear Colin, The war is over, and we won. I hope they tell you this, wherever you are now, so that you know that your sacrifice was not in vain." After the final battle, Harry grieves for Colin. One-shot


_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the wizarding world do not belong to me. _

_A/N. The idea for this came to me while struggling with a much longer Harry Potter story that I hope to post on here soon. Hope you enjoy, and tell me what you think at the end!_

Dear Colin,

The war is over, and we won. I hope they tell you this, wherever you are now, so that you know that your sacrifice was not in vain. I wonder if you've met my parents yet? I wish I could tell them to look out for you, and be as proud of you as they are of me. On earth at least, I will make sure that you are a hero not unsung.

I wish I had one of your photos, much as they used to annoy me at the time. Ah well, I guess I can always ask Dennis for one. I'm sorry for getting so annoyed with you, but I still think you admired me way too much. I wish you could have thought less of me and more of yourself, because you were brilliant, truly brilliant, in that last battle, and earlier in the D.A., and I'm sorry I never said it, and I wish you were still alive so you could hear it. You're more a hero than I will ever be, Colin, and I'm sorry that you were so mistaken as to think me one, and underestimated yourself so much.

I'll never forget that moment when I saw Oliver and Neville carrying you back to Hogwarts to lie with the fallen. That was one of the worst moments of the entire battle. So I guess you got your wish, Colin, I finally realized how much you meant to me as a friend. But seriously, you shouldn't have cared that much about me – I was so thoughtless, and I snubbed you a lot. You should have found a better friend.

I'm rambling, but the war is over, but the funerals are not. They keep coming, and I just feel exhausted by it all. Your funeral was today. I'm going to put this on your grave, with wards around it so not even the Skeeter woman can get her hands on it. You know, right now, I don't even have the energy to detest her as much as usual.

But ignore that last paragraph. I shouldn't burden you with my petty worries when you are so free right now – or at least, I sincerely hope you are. I wrote this letter because I just really wanted to say,

Thank you

I'm sorry

Farewell.

_Harry Potter_.

….

Dear Harry,

I know! You were brilliant, all of you, and I was so happy when I heard.

I'm glad that you care about me, but I wish you wouldn't be so upset about me dying. In retrospect, the whole thing was kind of cool. Wasn't it Dumbledore who said that death was only an adventure?

In any case, you're wrong about one thing, and it's quite important, which is why I'm writing to you. I know I was kind of obsessed with you, and followed you around, and generally made a nuisance of myself, but it wasn't for the reasons you think it was. I know that you know that I really admire you, Harry, but I think maybe if you knew why you wouldn't feel so guilty about it.

For it wasn't because I thought you were perfect, or the Chosen One, or anything like that…well, it was at first, but I got beyond that after first year. I _decided_ to admire you, because you were kind, and determined, and played really good Quidditch. I promise, I didn't put you on a pedestal or anything, though I still think you totally deserve your own Chocolate Frog card.

At the end of your letter to me, you apologized. There's nothing to forgive. Honestly, you weren't half as unkind to me as you seem to think you were.

I _am _really glad you think I was a hero. But we were all heroes, there in the Battle, and you more so than anyone. Stop dwelling on it, Harry, and thinking yourself unworthy, because in the end you put an end to this war, and we can never be grateful enough to you for it.

See you soon, Harry! (but I hope not too soon!)

Colin

_A/N. I hope you found it worth the read. The second letter from Colin is supposed to be a bit ambiguous, and you can interpret it in different ways. I don't really think of it as him actually writing from beyond the grave, but more of what he _would _have said to Harry if he had read Harry's letter. But I leave the interpretation completely up to you!_

_I have actually written another of these letters, this time from Draco to Hermione, which I will post in a few days' time. In the meantime, have a very happy Christmas!_

_Pleeeeeaaaaaase review!_


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